


There's Something About Aziraphale

by Lexitennant2



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Get Together, Human AU, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-08-11 23:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20161525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexitennant2/pseuds/Lexitennant2
Summary: Crowley isn't looking for love, he's perfectly fine with spending his nights out with his best friend Anathema, or volunteering at the local plant nursery ( not that he'd ever tell anyone ) instead of staying up all night thinking about some guy or girl. But then he bumps into an angelic boy named Aziraphale in a cafe and he's head over heels immediately. You're typical romantic comedy about a guy who isn't looking for love, but somehow always finds it.





	1. Carla's Coffeehouse

Crowley and Anathema were sitting in the very back of the coffee shop, right by the display case of freshly baked goods and the back exit.

They had their textbooks spread out before them, and their laptops open, blank screens stared at them patiently as the cursor blinked rapidly, waiting for them to type something.

Crowley picked up one textbook, opened it to a random page, and then spent half a minute trying to decipher the first paragraph. He titled it sideways, upside down, and then tossed it back onto the table.

“This is why I hate Oscar Wilde.” He grumbled, before rubbing his tired eyes.

Anathema looked up from her cup and gave an equally frustrated sigh. “It’s just one essay Crowley, we have four weeks to do it. If we finish it early than we can spend the rest of the semester doing whatever we want...and finishing up whatever other assignments were given from other classes.”

Crowley groaned, picked up the book once more and squinted.

“ _ We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is useless. _ ” He mocked, before closing the book once more, this time settling it into his lap. 

“What does that even mean?”

“Just be glad we aren’t doing the Iliad. Newt keeps texting me every time he doesn’t understand something,” she pulled out her phone to show Crowley the incoming texts, “which means I get a text every five minutes.” She thoughtfully looked down at the screen, before pocketing her phone into the pocket of her yellow Bohemian styled dress.

“Aren’t you going to answer him?” Crowley asked, his fingers tapping an unknown tune onto the cover of the book in his lap.

“Let him stew a little. It’s not my fault he placed in advanced english.” Anathema shrugged and pointed at the screen with a long nail covered in nail polish. “We need to put words there, so let’s go over the prompt again.” 

Crowley scowled and the tapping became more insistent. His own nails were painted the same color as Anathema’s, but lacked the sharpness of hers. They were a blur of dark blue as his fingers wildly danced across the worn cover of the book.

He tipped his sunglasses down with his other hand, and leaned forward a little out of his relaxed position so he could look at the slip of paper their english teacher had given them the day before.

“How is the role of art determined by Oscar Wilde in the  _ Preface _ displayed in  _ The Picture of Dorian Gray _ ?” Crowley read off, before pushing his sunglasses back up his nose. 

Anathema took a long sip of coffee as Crowley stared at her expectantly.

“What?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“This is your sort of thing love, I read the end of the preface just now and feel stupider than ever for not getting it.”

“I’m not writing your essay  _ and  _ my essay Crowley.” Anathema huffed.

Crowley rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I meant, I just need a jump start, something that will get me at least a B in this blasted class.” He went to reach for his own cup of coffee and found it disappointingly empty.

“I can only offer the view of homoeroticism when it comes to that book.” He smirked, earning a slap on his shoulder from Anathema.

“Let me get a refill for my coffee and then we can get back to..this.” He waved his hand at the table and pushed back his chair to stand up. He had said it like they hadn’t been spending the entire hour of their time at the coffee shop talking about the latest gossip and scrolling through instagram.

He started to walk away and then realized he’d forgotten his cup. This coffee shop was different then most, and liked to wash the cup you already had and giving you your new beverage, instead of wasting multiple plastic cups on refills. He twirled around rather gracefully and snatched the cup before heading off again towards the counter.

Crowley, not looking where he was going because he was the sort of person that expected people to move out of the way for him - and they normally did - collided into something soft and short.

There was a squeak - which didn’t come from Crowley how dare you even suggest that - and an omph from the other person and Crowly found himself reacting quickly by cradling the new person close to his chest so they didn’t both go crashing down to the floor.

The person’s possessions, as long as Crowley’s mug, suffered a worse fate, and were scattered across the floor. 

“Oh my, I’m terribly sorry.” The person rushed to say in a rather posh accent, and Crowley looked down to see white blond curls and a round apologetic face staring up at him.

“I-um-ngk…” Crowley trailed off looking into the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. “Perfectly fine, wasn’ watchin where I was goin.” Crowley stumbled out.

He became aware that he was cradling the stranger and snapped his hands to his side and took a step back.

“Let me help you.” He used that as an excuse to duck out of the strangers views so they couldn’t see how flushed his face was becoming. He normally wouldn’t have helped the stranger, hell he probably should have snarled out that the fool should have been paying attention but there was just something about the stranger that made Crowley a flustered, good Samaritan. 

His mug had luckily landed on a to go bag of some kind of pastry so he picked that up first and reached above his head to set it on the table next to where he was squatting. He then scooped up the to-go bag and a few of the books and prepared to offer them to the stranger when one book in particular caught his eye.

“So, you’re into snakes?” He asked, giving the stranger the books and pastry bag. The man took them and flushed.

“A friend of mine moved recently and his new place doesn’t allow snakes so I offered to take his in. I have no idea how to properly care for a snake though.” 

Crowley smirked. “I can tell, the book you have isn’t a good book for beginners, or generally anyone.”

Besides the taboo of helping the stranger, he also never tried to make pleasantries with them, or carry on a conversation. But this guy was barreling straight into a conversation and Crowley couldn’t walk away from it even if he wanted to. Which he most certainly did not.

“Oh dear me, really?” The man had such a look of genuine worriedness for the possibility of not having the proper knowledge for caring for a snake that Crowely’s heart melted. Crowley had a rather fondness for snakes, and was always tender hearted when he met people that liked them, or showed concern for their well being as well.

“I had a few snakes growing up so I’m a bit of an expert.” Crowley couldn’t help but brag, trying to regain his usual cocky behavior that seemed to have slipped away the moment the stranger had fallen into his arms.

“The names Crowley.”

Crowley thrust his hand out and the stranger shuffled his possessions into the crook of one arm so he could shake Crowley’s. The strangers hand was soft and warm, and larger than Crowley’s slender and cold hand and he secretly loved that. 

“My names Aziraphale. You have been ever so helpful..Crowley.” 

Crowley’s brain tripped over itself a few times at the way Aziraphale said his name. He shook himself out of it and instead focused on the strangers name.

It was a rather odd name, especially for this day and age, but it oddly suited him. From his curly white blond hair, cherubic face, and short and slightly rotund body, he looked like the angel he was named after. Minus the blazer he was wearing, that he’d rolled up to show his forearms -  _ oh someone those forearms _ \- and the awful pink chinos, Crowley could almost start believing again in Christianic deities. 

“No problem.” He said shrugging, hoping he was coming off as nonchalant.

“I really do feel bad though, how about I take you out to lunch?” 

Crowley’s brain tripped once again and took its sweet time to get back up.

“Sure.” He squeaked out, and ran a hair nervously through his hair. “I’d love to.”

Crowley winced internally. He’d  _ love to ?  _ Great God what was he thinking.

Aziraphale seemed to light up at that, which made Crowley feel a little less embarrassed. They exchanged numbers - Crowley trying very hard not to make a joke about the angels android - and soon the Aziraphale was going out the back exit, making sure to stop and wave good-bye to Crowley before he left.

Crowley gave a little wave back and then picked up his cup from the table and went to get his drink.

When he returned to his seat, Anathema was watching him with a gleam in her eye.

“Don’t you dare.” He said, making himself comfortable in his chair so he was draped across it with his legs stretched out wide.

“That was the  _ cutest  _ meet-cute I’ve ever seen.”

Crowley spluttered. “M-meet cute? What drugs are you on?” 

Anathema giggled and poked him in the rib. “So you have a date with a pretty boy, and a refill on your coffee, which means it’s time to go back to your favorite author.”

“Oh shut it.” He grumbled and started typing an intro to his essay so he could avoid anymore conversation with Anathema.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he discreetly pulled it out to find he had a message from Aziraphale telling him what time to meet the next day. Crowley covered his grin by taking a drink from his coffee cup, but it wouldn’t go away.

He was going to see Aziraphale tomorrow and he wasn’t sure why he was so excited, but not even Oscar Wilde himself could bring down Crowley’s spirits.


	2. Apologetic Lunch

Crowley was very nervous. This was not a feeling he was accustomed to and he absolutely hated it. He should be confident right now, but every time he thought about Aziraphale’s blue eyes or his old fashioned way of speaking and he became a flustered mess.

Anathema wouldn’t let it go, and he wondered whether he should get a new best friend. But no one knew him as well as she did and he frankly didn’t have the energy to find someone new.

For all his bravado and cockiness, he was a rather shy individual and kept his more vulnerable side hidden at all times. It was hard for him to forge meaningful relationships because he pushed away so many people. Anathema had fought tooth and nail to be at his side and he was very thankful for it, because he didn’t know what his life would be like without her. He guessed it would be shitty.

“Are you thinking about him again? Your cheeks have gone all rosey again.” Anathema poked him in the cheek and he hissed at her playfully.

“Do that again and I’ll bite you.” He said before turning his attention back to his mirror and held up another shirt in front of his chest so he could see how it looked.

Anathema stepped over a large pile of shirts and put a finger to her chin as she looked it over.

“That’s a hideous shirt, how do you even own that?” She scoffed at the orange and yellow polka dotted fabric and Crowley bristled.

“I’ll have you know it was the height of fashion.”

“Yeah, in the 70’s maybe”

“The 70’s is coming back.” He defended, but tossed the shirt aside anyways.

“Let me pick out something for you.” Anathema said and didn’t give him time to argue as she stepped into his walk-in closet and started digging through his clothes.

He began grabbing all the clothes he’d thrown on the floor and stuffed them into his hamper, not wanting his room to be messy but also not wanting to hang up all the clothes he’d just tossed around his room.

He sat down on his bed with his legs folded under him and he wearily looked at his phone. He had about an hour left before he had to meet Aziraphale. They had settled on a small Italian place that had just opened up on the richer side of LZondon. He didn’t think Aziraphale would have that kind of taste in restaurants but Crowley wasn’t going to argue, he’d heard that it had wonderful food and attentive staff so he was all down for trying it.

“How ‘bout this?” Anathema shoved a pile of clothes into his arms and he obediently stood up and changed into the ensemble.

It was a silk button up shirt with fine silver swirls patterned all over the fabric. The pants were a dark maroon that showed off his ass quite nicely. He hummed in consideration and after rolling up the sleeves of the shirt decided that it was fine enough.

“Do you think it’d be ok to wear makeup?” He hated how unsure he sounded but he knew that even in today’s society, men wearing makeup was frowned upon. Anathema squeezed his arm assuredly. 

“He isn’t worth it if he makes a complaint about it.”

“It isn’t a date.” Crowley huffed, running a hand through his hair, so the red strands were sticking up even more.

“‘Course not.” Anathema teased before getting serious. “He says or does anything and you call me immediately got it?”

Crowley nodded and headed over to his vanity so he could put on a red lip and a little eyeliner. He picked out a pair of pink tinted sunglasses and gave Anathema a kiss on the head for thanks. 

He left the flat they shared together and drove his vintage Bentley to the Italian resturant, the entire time worried about how everything would go. He was being foolish, worrying about this sort of stuff, because this was most certainly  _ not  _ a date, and just a lunch to makeup for running into Crowley. Though it wasn’t like Aziraphale had spilled his drink all over Crowley or had done any sort of inconvenience to him so Crowley didn’t really understand the point of the lunch unless he looked at it from the standpoint of a date.

He pulled into a parking spot and walked over to the restaurant nervously. He entered and was pleased to see that the lights in the place were dimmed and they’d kept the curtains of the windows closed so no light would come in. He pushed his sunglasses up into his hair and waited for his eyes to adjust.

He had rather sensitive eyes since he was a child so it had always been a pain in the ass going anywhere because he always needed sunglasses because it was either the sun or artificial lights that were too bright for him. 

Crowley found himself thanking Aziraphale for wanting to eat at this place even though the man had no idea about his condition.

He easily spotted said man in a booth in the corner of the room. He made his way over and smirked at how Aziraphale was wearing those awful chino’s again - in a dark purple this time - and a tartan white and black sweater.

Aziraphale saw him and eagerly waved him over.

“I hope this place is to your liking.” Aziraphale said as Crowley slid into the booth across from him.

“I’m not a picky eater.” Crowley said, taking notice that Aziraphael’s gaze had dropped down to his lips. He tentatively licked his lips and saw Aziraphale flush. 

As Aziraphale called over a waiter to bring some menus, Crowley contemplated the reaction. Aziraphale hadn’t looked disgusted by the lipstick, in fact he’d looked quite the opposite. Even now was they were going over their menus Crowley could see Aziraphale’s eyes flicking to the Crowley’s lips and his cherubic face became even redder each time.

“So how’s the snake handling going?” Crowley asked once he’d decided on his food and put the menu down.

Aziraphale bit his lip. “It’s actually going rather awful, I think my friend has been neglecting the poor thing and I don’t have the experience to help it or the money to go to a vet.”

Crowley leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table so his palms could hold up his head. “I’d be willing to come over and take a look.” He offered.

Aziraphale flashed him a rather tender smile. “Thank you my dear boy. I wouldn’t want to trouble you.”

“Nonsense,” Crowley waved a hand, “I haven't had a snake since I was a kid so taking a look at yours would be a delight.”

Aziraphale smiled an even tenderer smile which Crowley didn’t think was possible if he hadn’t been on the receiving end of it.

The waiter arrived with their food at that moment and Crowley eagerly dug in to Spaghetti Bolognese with white wine sauce.

Aziraphale cutely took a small bite of his dish and Crowley did his hardest not to blush at the noise of appreciation the blonde made.

"Would it trouble you then to possibly come over to my place tomorrow to help me with my snake?"

Crowley's brain short-circuited as he watched Aziraphale's tongue peek out of his mouth to lick away some stray sauce off of his sweet and plump lips.

"Yeah, ngk, no problem." Crowley took a bite of his food to cover up whatever nonsense had just came out of his mouth, happy that this lunch - _date, definitely a date_! His inner Anathema screamed - had led to another chance at seeing his angel.

_His angel, _hmm he liked the sound of that. 


	3. Snake Date

Crowley checked his phone again and looked up at the bookshop in front of him. He scratched at the back of his head, certain that this was the address Aziraphale had given, but the man had never mentioned anything about a bookshop.

The bookshop was at the corner of a three way street, looking rather out of place for that area in Soho. It was rather old fashioned looking with maroon walls and cloudy looking windows. Two white pillars framed the doorway leading into the shop. The name - A.Z Fell And Co - was above the door in peeling gold letters.

Crowley shrugged and put his phone back into the back pocket of his skinny jeans and made his way inside the shop.

It was dimly lit inside so Crowley pushed his glasses up into his hair. He rather liked the scent of old books and something sweet and spicy that greeted him. 

There were rows upon rows of bookshelves that were loaded with all sorts of books. Thick, thin, short, small, there was no free space on any of the bookshelves or on any other surrounding surface. There was a desk in the back with an old looking computer and a bell. No one seemed to be around so Crowley brought his hand down on the bell, its high pitched  _ ding  _ echoing through the shop.

There was a scuffling noise from above his head and thudding coming from his right. He tilted forward to see past a bookcase and saw a set of stairs with Aziraphale running down them. 

“Sorry, dear boy.” Aziraphale huffed, catching his breath by leaning on the desk. “I lost track of the time.”

Crowley waved away the apology and made a polite compliment of the bookshop. 

Aziraphale perked up at that.

“It’s been in my family for generations, but my father finally let me renovate the whole place. He’s away in France for the moment so it’s been difficult to keep track of this shop and my course work.”

Aziraphale picked up a dusty tome that was lying on the desk and struggled for a few moments to shove it back onto a shelf nearby.

“It’s hard to part with all these books, sometimes I wish this were a library instead of a bookshop.” He gave Crowley a small smile and Crowley decided then and there that he would have no trouble coming to the shop to scare away potential customers for his angel.

He quickly reminded himself that it wasn’t the best idea to do that because he didn’t need his angel and his family going bankrupt because no one would buy any books.

“I don’t believe I asked last time, but what are you studying?”

“I’m hoping to get my PHD in history and a masters in english literature.”

Crowley let out a low whistle. “That’s some pretty hefty stuff.”

Aziraphale nodded. “You have no idea, but I have an uncle who is willing to offer me a really good job once I’ve graduated, and I really do love this sort of stuff. I’ve been a history buff since I could properly read books. And well, I love the classics, _Dante's Inferno, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Fahrenheit 451. _I wanted to be a curator of old books when I was younger, but I’m leaning more towards archivist now_.” _Aziraphale looked slightly embarrassed and Crowley was stricken with the thought that he’d fallen for a nerd.

There was nothing wrong with that of course, and it suited Aziraphale quite well. 

Crowley made a face that he tried to hide with a cough. He had not fallen for Aziraphale, what was his brain thinking? They’d known each other for three days now. But he caught himself staring at those plush pink lips and unknowingly ran his tongue around his own lips.

Oh, those lips were moving. Crowley snapped out of it and asked Aziraphale to repeat what he’d said.

“I was wondering what you were studying, I noticed you and your.. _ female companion _ had  _ The Picture of Dorian Gray  _ with you.”

Crowley scoffed. “That was just for our basic english class. Anathema - who’s my  _ mate  _ \- wanted to get our essay on the book started way earlier than we needed to.” He made sure to emphasis his friendship with Anathema and was pleased that once he’d established that, Aziraphale had crept up closer to him and they were standing side to side against the desk, almost touching arms.

“To be honest, I’m not sure yet what I want to do. Wanted to be a prosecutor once, but I don’t have the patience for it I don’t think. I’m more sensitive than I let on. I don’t think I could handle being the prosecutor for let’s say, er, the murder of a young boy, my big fear is that the man who killed the boy is found not guilty and I’ve failed the family there due justice.”

Aziraphale squeezed Crowley’s elbow so gently that Crowley would have missed it if the boys hand hadn’t lingered. 

“I always thought you were the big and tough sorta guy.” Aziraphale teased lightening the mood.

Crowley stuck his tongue out at him and nudged him with his shoulder.

“Let’s go take a look at that snake then shall we?”

Aziraphale led them up the cramped stairs and into his bedroom. It was much liked the downstairs, dark painted walls and books piled everywhere. The bed was rather large and piled high with fancy pillows and a thick comforter, all in tans and creams.

By the window, there was a rather large snake tank where Crowley could see a rather  _ fat  _ looking snake lying on the bottom.

The habitat itself looked rather nice, and was decorated with a tree branch, a small hut like thing for the snake to hide in, and a water bowl. Two heat lamps were attached to the top of the terrarium, and Crowley could see Aziraphale hadn’t thrown out any of the boxes yet meaning he’d bought the snake all new things.

“Good someone, how much have you been feeding it?” Crowley squatted down in front of the snake and peered through the glass to look it over.

Aziraphale squatted down next to him. “It’s how I got her.”

Crowley made to apologize but Aziraphale barreled onwards, “I didn’t trust a word that came out of Gabriel - my  _ friends  _ \- mouth so I used the internet and these books to figure out how to properly take care of her and I’ve been following them strictly and it’s only been a week but she seems to be getting worse and I should-”

“Woah, slow down there angel.” Crowley awkwardly patted Aziraphale’s back to calm him down. Aziraphale was staring at him frozen, but Crowley’s brain hadn’t caught up to the fact that he had just called Aziraphale,  _ angel,  _ out loud.

“My best advice is to keep doing what you’re doing, proper cage maintenance, don’t over feed her, and you really should take her to the vet as soon as possible. I’ll help you with that if you need too.”

Crowley wished he could do more for Aziraphale because he'd offered to help, but his knowledge didn't extend past the books and his own personal experience. The snake really did need to see a vet, he could only hope his advice had been enough for now. He had enough savings to help with the vet bill too, so there shouldn't be any issues about the snake getting better in no time.

He straightened up and Aziraphale did the same.

“You really are too much.” Aziraphale said softly.

Crowley blushed, “angel-”

Aziraphale cut him off by hugging him and burying his nose into Crowely’s neck. 

“Ngk.” Was all Crowley could say as his arms wrapped around Aziraphale, and his brain finally caught up with how he’d started to actually call Aziraphale  _ angel  _ out loud instead of just in his head. 

Hugging Aziraphale was like hugging a cloud. He was soft and warm and curved in all the right places. Crowley’s tall and thin frame easily fit with Aziraphale’s rounder and shorter one.

“Thank you so much Crowley, really, you’re the first one to be so kind to me.”

Crowley couldn’t believe that and said just so.

Aziraphale pulled back a bit but Crowley didn’t release him from the hug, his hands seemed to be frozen, pressed into Aziraphale’s back.

“You’d be surprised dear.” Aziraphale said, looking at a spot beside Crowley’s eyes.

It was right then and there that Crowley made a decision. So what if he’d only known the other boy for three days. Crowley was a man of action. Do it now and worry about the consequences later.

So he pulled Aziraphale flush against him and kissed him right on his plump and pink mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really rubbish when it comes to snakes and I couldn't find much on them, so please don't follow anything that I write on here because its a mix of what i can find on the internet and what I think makes sense.


	4. Operation Boyfriend

Crowley did not have any regrets at all.

Kissing Aziraphale was the best thing he had ever done in his life.

"Sorry, that was rather forward." Crowley said, breaking the kiss. He was rather pleased that he had caused the dazed and flushed expression on Aziraphale.

"A tad." The shorter boy said, before standing on his tip-toes to continue the kiss.

Crowley's phone started vibrating in his pocket and he groaned into the kiss. He always did have the worst of luck didn't he?

He reluctantly pulled away from Aziraphale and took out his phone. He had a missed call from Anathema. 

"You should probably get that?" Aziraphale asked, since it was the polite thing to suggest but his tone was clearly hinting that he wanted to continue the kissing.

Crowley shrugged and repocketed his phone, leaning down eagerly to once again taste the boys lips when his phone started buzzing even more frantically.

With a heavy sigh he answered the phone.

"What?"

"_Finally_!" Anathema yelled loud enough that Crowley felt a ringing in his ears, "_something happened at Newt's work, I don't know-_"

"Woah slow down, what'd you mean something happened?"

"_That's what I'm trying to tell you, I don't know!_" Anathema scolded. "_There was some sort of explosion in the computer lab where he was and everyone is going nuts right now and his mom isn't telling me jack shit about what's going on. All I can figure out is he's not in critical condition."_

Crowley gripped the phone tightly at his hands. He and Newt didn't get a long particularly well, but he still considered Newt to be an all around good guy. He also didn't like that Anathema was being so effected by Newt's injury. They had only started dating over the summer but they had become rather close and Crowley knew that if anything ever happened to the other, they'd be extremely crushed.

The fact that Anathema was seconds away from a break down was testament to that.

"Where are you right now?" 

He could see Aziraphale watching him with a worried expression and he motioned for Aziraphale to hold on a moment.

"_Back in the lobby, hoping for any signs the hell beast is going to take a bathroom break so I can slip past her and see Newt."_

Crowley winced. Newt's mother and Anathema had never gotten along. Newt's mother had been raised strictly and she passed that type of teaching to her son, in hopes he would marry a nice charming British girl. Instead, Newt had a spunky girlfriend who wore bohemian clothes and dabbled in Wicca on the weekends. 

"We'll meet you there in ten minutes." Crowley said, hanging up the phone, a plan forming in his head.

"How good are you at lying?" He asked.

Aziraphale's mouth thinned. "Not very good."

Crowley suppressed a sigh.

"Ok angel, I need your help right now. Think of it as a return favor for the trip to the vet for you snake."

"Sandalphon and I never agreed to the vet visit first of all-"

"Not negotiable. Your snake needs help, and also did I just bloody hear you right. "_Sandalphon?"_

"Gabriel named her." Aziraphale pouted.

"Mhmm...either way, I help you, you help me. Deal?" Crowley stuck his hand out and after a few seconds Aziraphale hesitantly shook it.

"Now what is it I need to lie abo-"

Aziraphale didn't manage to finish his sentence because Crowley grabbed him abruptly and started pulling him out of the room. Aziraphale tried to keep up with the long legged red head as they bolted out of the bookshop and into the Bentley.

"Hold on just a minute! I need to lock up the bookshop- are there no seatbelts?" Aziraphale cut himself off mid sentence to take in the state of the bench seat of the Bentley, which was indeed missing seat belts.

Crowley started up the engine and smirked at Aziraphale.

"If it makes you feel any better, I can just do this." Crowley snaked his arm around Aziraphale's waist and pulled the plumper boy towards him til Aziraphale was nestled tightly into Crowley's side. Crowley smirked even more as Aziraphale flushed and protested weakly. 

With a jerk, Crowley spun the steering wheel to the right towards the direction of the hospital and slammed his foot on the gas.

* * *

"That's your plan?" Aziraphale asked incredulously.

"Wha'? Is a rather good plan I'd say." Crowley replied 

They were sitting in the parking lot of the hospital after a seven minute drive - that was ten for the average person and had Crowley boasting he could have made it in five if he wanted to - that was as close to Aziraphale had ever came to riding a rollercoaster.

"Look, Newt's mother will fall for it. She's the type who will _love _the idea of Newt having friends who are a gay couple. She'll boast about how totally fine she is with the lgbt at her next book club meeting, and we can distract her long enough to get Anathema to see her boyfriend."

Aziraphale shifted in the seat and looked down at his hands. "I don't know how I'd feel..pretending to be your boyfriend." He said quietly.

Crowley bit his lip and slowly took Aziraphale's hand in his. "It's not full on lying..I was hoping to make you my boyfriend after a few more dates. Treat you proper and all that romance novel stuff." Crowley muttered embarrassed.

Aziraphale looked up at him with a large smile.

"Really?" He said hopefully.

Crowley offered a small smile and a quick kiss on the tip of Aziraphale's nose.

"Trust me angel, I wouldn't lie about this."

Now that Aziraphale was on board and Crowley was having a heart attack because he'd just admitted he wanted to be Aziraphale's boyfriend, the two made their way into the hospital. Crowley cringed at the smell and bright lights that seemed to be able to cut through his sunglasses. He had never liked the hospital, all the tests he'd gone through as a child and all the horror that went on behind closed doors made him feel sick even to this day.

He spotted Anathema pacing in front of the lifts and beelined towards her.

They hugged briefly and Crowley felt her tears wet his shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're here." She sniffled. "You have to talk to _her." _

"Don't worry, Aziraphale and I have a plan."

Anathema pulled herself together and introduced herself to Aziraphale. She threw Crowley a knowing look and he sent on back that clearly told her not to say anything.

Anathema being Anathema, did not head the warning.

"Crowley's been telling me so much about you, I wish our first meeting had been under more pleasant circumstances though."

Aziraphale blushed. "Likewise." 

Anathema pressed the button for the elevator and Aziraphale pulled Crowley aside.

"You've talked about me?"

Crowley shrugged and tried hard not to blush himself. "Nothing bad, promise."

Aziraphale raised an eyebrow but the lift arrived and Anathema ushered them inside before he could say anything.

"Since the bathroom on the second floor is going through maintenance I was betting on Newt's mom having to come down here for a bathroom break but no such luck."

"You haven't been patient enough." Crowley said lightly.

Anathema threw him a dirty look but refrained from saying anything.

The lift opened up and the three walked out onto the floor. They followed Anathema down a few corridors before Crowley saw a familiar tweed clad woman exiting room 232. She caught sight of Anathema and frowned.

"Now listen _dear," _she started to say before she took notice of Crowley not far behind Anathema, and Aziraphale clutching his hand._  
_

Aziraphale dropped his mouth open in shock.

"Aziraphale?" Newt's mom asked, making Crowley and Anathema look at Aziraphale for answers as to why Newt's mom knew him.


	5. The Hospital

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I will be moving into my dorm on Sunday, I will be posting two chapters on Saturday which will take place of my Sunday/Wednesday updates so I can get situated with my classes. Thank you all for understanding :)

Ms. Pulsifar was a woman on a mission, she beelined straight for Aziraphale and pulled him into such a forceful hug that Crowley was partially drawn into it because Aziraphale hadn't let go of his hand.

"Oh my _darling_ boy, I didn't know you were friends with.._her." _She said disappointedly as she pulled away.

She noticed Crowley awkwardly standing by and gave him a huge smile. While Newt's mom disliked Anathema, she seemed to have a sweet spot for Crowley. He didn't understand it either but there was something about him that mothers and grandmothers alike made them want to coddle him.

"_Oh_, and you and Aziraphale are such a lovely match dear..though I did hear that last week you were with that librarians daughter?" She gave him a stern look.

Crowley thanked the heavens that he was fast on his feet when it came to lying.

"We wanted to keep our relationship secret til we really knew how we felt about each other, so I just continued as usual." 

To be perfectly honest, he'd only sold the girl some cigarettes. It wasn't his fault people spread rumors about what innocent...well not _that _innocent, meetings he had with people. 

"Oh well, that settles it. And it's so sweet of you to come by and see Newt, you can _both _go right in." She motioned towards the doorway, while clearly emphasizing that Anathema wasn't allowed in.

It was Aziraphale's turn to lie now, and he threw a worried look at Crowley before clearing his throat and gently taking Ms. Pulsifar's hands in his. 

"Ms. Pulsifar, I'm sure Newt is under a lot of stress right now, no matter how small his injuries are. I think it'd be a good idea for Anathema to see him, you might not like her but you must admit that she is good for him, and being able to see her right now would help Newt feel somewhat better and that's what he needs right now, right? I doubt you'd want to keep him miserable at his stay at the hospital just because you don't want his girlfriend around him."

Ms. Pulsifar's lips twisted as if she had bitten into something rather sour, but in a tight voice she said, "alright."

Aziraphale withdrew his hands from hers and she briskly walked over to Anathema. "But I will be in the room the entire time." She said huffily before entering the room. Anathema looked shocked but composed herself and threw Aziraphale a thumbs up as she hurried in after Newt's mother.

"I didn't know you had it in you to be so manipulative."

"Wh-what do you mean? You're the one who wanted me to lie." Aziraphale stuttered.

"Yeah, but you're the one who said," Crowley altered his voice so he could mimic Aziraphale's, "_I doubt you'd want to keep him miserable." _

Crowley smirked as Aziraphale blushed even more.

"Now that angel, is pure and simple manipulation." He rested his elbow on Aziraphale's shoulder and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "and I bloody love that." 

Aziraphale made a strange keening noise but Crowley had already begun walking away from Newt's room and over to a bench that was on the other side of the hall. He sat down, spreading his legs out and patted the seat beside him. Aziraphale stomped over and sat primly and properly on the bench.

"So, you never mentioned you knew Ms. Pulsifar when I brought her up." Crowley peered at Aziraphale over his glasses but regretted the move immediately as the florescent lights hit his eyes.

"I really didn't think at the time dear, I thought it couldn't possibly be the same Pulsifar."

"Well, we do live in London." Crowley teased.

That earned a small smile from Aziraphale, and the blonde relaxed a little more onto the bench.

Crowley couldn't stop his eyes from lingering on the way Aziraphale's pants stretched to encompass the spread of his thighs.

"So, how do you know that demon woman?" Crowley asked, tearing his eyes away from Aziraphale's thighs.

"Really now Crowley." Aziraphale said, but Crowley was stubborn and wouldn't apologize for calling things as he saw them.

"She's best friends with my great-aunt Margaret. They have a rather weird friendship seeing as Ms. Pulsifar likes my great-aunt a lot but doesn't like Anathema."

"Really?" Crowley asked, intrigued by that comment. He assumed that any family member of Aziraphale's would be like him, prim and proper and dressing behind the times, but if he was comparing his great-aunt to Anathema than Crowley had assumed wrong.

"Maybe I should introduce Anathema to my great-aunt, she's looking for an assistant right now. Do you think Anathema would like a job?"

"I'm sure she would appreciate it." Crowley said and scooted closer so he could put his arm around Aziraphale's waist. "Our plan almost went southwards, but are you ok with me being your boyfriend for now?"

"Well you did say you'd take me on some proper dates before we make it official..for ourselves at least. I'm pretty sure Ms. Pulsifar will be informing my great-aunt tonight."

Crowley shrugged, "I'm fine with it as long as you are."

Aziraphale smiled and leaned his head into the crook of Crowley's neck.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching nurses and other family members go by. Crowley was becoming absorbed in his thoughts, wondering what his first date with Aziraphale would be like. Maybe he would take Aziraphale back to that Italian place after they went to the vet. 

"I'm free after three tomorrow, so I was thinking I could pick you up and we can head on over to the vet?"

"Really Crowley-"

"There's no point in resisting angel." Crowley gave him a solid kiss on the lips so Aziraphale couldn't argue anymore. The blonde sank into it and inside Crowley's head he was doing a little dance for joy. His life was going perfectly, he was now dating a lovely boy, he was actually enjoying his first year of college besides the homework, and he had Anathema. 

The kiss ended and he just knew that he had a dopey look on his face, but Aziraphale was well worth it.


	6. Dr. Rose

Anathema and Ms. Pulsifar came out of the room half an hour later, both looking extremely agitated. 

Anathema gave them a look to suggest not to ask any questions and headed towards the elevator. Aziraphale and Crowley bid Ms. Pulsifar a rushed goodbye and hurried after Anathema.

When they were all in the elevator, Crowley noticed that Anathema’s eyes were wet with angry tears.

“What happened in there?” He asked.

“It was going fine for a good five minutes and then I kicked over my bag and she saw my Herbology book and..it just went downhill from there.” Anathema kicked at the floor of the elevator angrily.

“That’s stupid.” Crowley said, feeling anger coil in his stomach. “What’d she say?”

“She started digging in about how she knows girls who are trying to become doctors or engineers and how I’m just going to be a low paid flower shop girl.” 

Aziraphale hesitantly patted Anathema’s upper arm, and said, “I think it’s lovely that you want to work with plants. You shouldn’t let Ms. Pulsifar get to you, she’s too prejudiced for her own good.” He looked embarrassed for saying that but Anathema smiled at him in thanks.

As she wiped away her tears he asked her, “what made you choose to work with plants?” 

“Well, it was Crowley here that made me see the  _ light  _ as it were.” Anathema teased making Crowley roll his eyes.

“But no really, Crowley can show you sometime but he has this large garden he maintains in the backyard of our flat, and his room has tons of plants. He has a regular old green thumb and he’s been getting me different flowers since we first met and helping me care for them. His passion for plants transferred to me, also my family comes from a long line of people who use plants and herbs for medicinal alternatives and stuff like that and it’s always interested me to know the different uses for plants. I’m actually studying to be a botanist..not a bloody flower girl, though there’s nothing wrong with that,” Anathema said hurriedly, “unless you’re that old bat then flower girl is right up there with prostitute.”

"Snakes and plants, I'm learning about how _kind_ you are every minute." 

Crowley scowled at Aziraphale's comment and gave a sigh of relief when the doors to the lift opened and they all stepped out.

"So, what are you two going to do?" Anathema asked, fidgeting with her skirt as the breeze from outside ruffled it as they pushed the main entrance doors open. 

"Well, I've finished my assignments so far - yes I know I still have the damn essay - but if Aziraphale's free I was going to take him and his snake to the vet."

He looked to Aziraphale for confirmation and the shorter boy nodded.

"Don't forget that tonight we're going to Beez's. His mom told me before the whole fiasco that he would be discharged in a few hours so if he can escape her, he'll be there too." She started to wave goodbye and walk off before she thought better of it and turned to Aziraphale with a warm smile.

"You of course are invited to come as well."

With that she was off and Aziraphale and Crowley headed to the Bentley.

So Crowley's plans of whisking Aziraphale off to a lavish date after the vet weren't exactly going how he wanted, but a night out with some of the friends Anathema and Crowley had made wouldn't be so bad. It was just a small group gathering in Beez's dorm and just playing party games and smuggling in some fruity alcohol because their campus was a dry campus.

When they returned to the bookshop, Aziraphale searched around for a crate large enough to transport the snake, and Crowley went upstairs to calm her if need be before going into the cage. She gazed at him with hardly any interest and didn't so much as wriggle when he carefully picked her up and put her in the crate.

The crate made a creaking noise at her weight and both boys winced. 

"By the way, I never asked what her name was." Crowley said inbetween struggled breathes as he carried the crate down the stairs and into the backseat floor of his car.

"Her name is Agatha." Aziraphale said proudly. "Gabriel didn't really give her a name so I thought Agatha would fit her."

Crowley racked his brain around as he thought about Agatha. "Agatha Christie or Raisin?"

"Christie of course." Aziraphale said sounding offended. "I'm sure the Raisin books are a delight but nothing can be such a classic author of mystery as Christie."

Crowley laughed and they both hopped in the car.

The vet wasn't that far from the bookshop so they made it there relatively quickly - again with Crowley driving wildly and Aziraphale clinging onto the upholstery of the seats.

The office when they walked in was fairly deserted, there was only one woman sitting on the plastic blue waiting chair with a white furred Chinchilla in a cage at her feet, and a sleepy eyed receptionist who almost nodded off as she handed Aziraphale a form to complete.

They ended up being called in before the woman with the Chinchilla, and Crowley stuck his tongue out immaturely when the woman glared at them. He thought Aziraphale hadn't noticed, but when he started to interlace his fingers with the boy, the blond had looked up and given him a pointed stare before holding Crowley's hand back.

The room they were led into by the Vet was small and decorated in peaches and teals. There was a large examining table that took up most of the room, a scale shoved into the corner next to padded white chairs, and a row of cabinets and counters. Framed paintings of reptiles and other various animals filled up any available wall space that wasn't covered with posters of facts about turtles, or proper teething for your Capybara.

The vet herself was a cheery old black woman who recognized Crowley and spent the first five minutes of the visit exchanging pleasantries with him.

"I expected to see you around here much sooner, Delilah misses you." Dr. Rose said, shaking her finger at Crowley in a teasing scold.

Crowley felt his cheeks warm up and he scratched at the back of his head nervously while Aziraphale watched the conversation with interest.

"Especially since you stopped coming by to see Ginger and Freddie."

"I'm sorry, I've been rather busy." Which wasn't quite a lie, he was just excluding that his parents had forbidden him from visiting the snakes again. Or spending anytime with Delilah.

"Pardon me, but who are Ginger and Freddie?" Aziraphale asked somewhat shyly.

Dr. Rose looked him over and seemed to like what she saw because she became impossibly more cheery as she explained, "why, those are the snakes Crowley used to bring by when he was younger. My Delilah owns them now because Crowley had to give them up, but this boy took such great care of them that it really is quite a shame he had to give them away." She looked at Crowley when she said the last part and he internally wanted to scream at her to not point that out in front of Aziraphale. 

Crowley's parents had entertained many of his wishes when he was a child, but as he grew older they became more focused on grooming him to be a prodigy child. Having light sensitive eyes put a damper on his parents pride in him, and they slowly started doting on his other siblings more. The last thing that he had ever asked for that his parents gladly gave him were two beautifully scaled snakes. One was a bright orange and red scaled female he'd named ginger, and the other was a cornflower blue and grey male named Freddie. They had their own cages and a special room that was connected to his bedroom.

His parents, as punishment for hanging around Delilah, had made him give away his snakes. They hadn't told him specifically how he was supposed to do that, so he'd ran straight over to Dr. Rose for help. Dr. Rose had been delighted to have the snakes for she had been admiring them for a while, and Delilah especially loved them. She was rightfully outraged when Crowley explained why he was giving them up.

Crowley's parents were not nice people. They relied on their wealth and status, and had quite plainly told him that even though Dr. Rose made quite a substantial amount of money for her rare animal and reptile animal hospital, she was still below them. They wanted Crowley hanging around wealthier and more _sophisticated _young men and women, instead of Delilah who was too much of a tomboy for his parents liking. 

They had reacted the same way with Anathema, but unlike before when he'd been too young and naive, he had fought for Anathema to stay his best friend. There were times where he looked back on memories of sneaking out of his house to hang in the park with Delilah, or sneaking her into his room so she could feed his snakes.

"Anyhoo," Doctor Rose continued, "let's take a look at your snake."

Crowley spent the rest of the visit tuning in and out of the conversation. He wondered whether Aziraphale would want to pry more into Crowley's backstory. Crowley could see that Aziraphale was very polite and kind and wouldn't push, but Crowley would have to explain things one day.

Aziraphale didn't know that ever since junior year of high school he had been staying at Beez's house, estranged from his family, and the only reason he had money for the flat was due to his parents not wanting to raise a scandal by disowning him, and they made sure to send him enough cash every month. Aziraphale didn't know that Crowley had almost been arrested but Anathema had saved his ass.

He tuned in long enough to hear her explaining things he was vaguely aware of, that you could tell when a snake was actually fat, and not just naturally thick, by the spread of their scales, and that because Agatha had been overweight for so long that there was some serious concern for her liver and kidneys. 

They ended up leaving the vet with a packet of a diet plan for Agatha, and instructions to come back the next day so Dr. Rose could look at Agatha's kidney's and liver more in depth to make sure they were alright.

As they trudged back to the car - Crowley holding the crate with both hands - Aziraphale shyly placed his hand in the crook of his elbow and they shared a smile, though Crowley's was tinged with fear and guilt.

Another thing Aziraphale didn't know, was that even though Crowley had a reputation because of what Ms. Pulsifar had said, he had always been very careful never to slip up with certain people that he couldn't dare be seen with.

For you see, Crowley had not yet come out to his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to TiaLewise for helping me with writing about the snakes :)


	7. The Party

Crowley had never hidden the part of him that leaned towards men. He didn't put an exact label on it, only knowing that he had no preference when it came to who he was attracted to, but he did know how his family would be if he outright stated that there were times where he fancied a bloke.

His parents were a mixture of the old and new wave parents. They believed in the traditional way of thinking about sexualities and genders and had managed to influence the rest of Crowley's siblings to have the same views. The new wave part was always lost to the traditional way; Crowley's mom liked to jump onto the latest parenting trend - organic food, strict screen time, and the like - and his father was usually dragged along too. But Crowley had no doubt in his mind that if he told his parents that he was anything but _straight _they would straight up deny it, - as they had been denying how he wore makeup or more feminine clothes sometimes; to them that was just a _phase - _and if he persisted there was serious thought of disownment. 

He was already estranged from his family, and while they didn't consider disownment right now because of the thought of a scandal, he knew that his father would never tolerate his own son being attracted to the same sex, and that alone would be worth the disownment scandal, rather than the scandal of having Crowley openly dating a male.

Crowley was lucky that the area that he lived in was somewhere his parents would never set foot in or associate with, so while there were some people like Ms. Pulsifar who wouldn't have any issue outing him to his parents, there was no chance of them ever meeting. So he was safe for now, but he knew in his heart that he was willing to make things serious with Aziraphale, and that scared him more than anything. He didn't know it he was ready to be truly free from his family to be with Aziraphale. He still loved his parents, despite their completely different views and standards of the ways of living, and the thought of them wanting absolutely nothing to do with him just because of his sexual preferences terrified him. 

It wasn't the thought of the loss of money that made him hide himself away whenever he was around his family - being estranged from them meant he rarely saw them anymore but he did come round for family parties, and still received letters from his older sister - it was the thought of their disappointment that weighed him down. He knew he shouldn't feel this way, that he a good support group of friends that were basically his family too, but he couldn't help it.

After dropping off Aziraphale and Agatha, Crowley had driven around, not yet ready to go back to the flat to get ready for the party. Aziraphale had insisted that Crowley didn't need to drive him to the party, so the red head had texted the address.

He found himself at a small park by his flat, his engine idled as he stared through his windshield at it, almost not seeing it.

Crowley used to come here with one of his nannies. He didn't remember which nanny it had been for there had been many because he had been a stubborn and fussy child, but this nanny always took him away from areas around his home so he could see what the rest of the world looked like, even though he was only four or five and couldn't really grasp what she was trying to point out.

But somewhere in his subconscious it had stuck. That's why he was happy to live in an almost too small flat with Anathema, and he adored the cottage that he had spent living in with Beez and their parents during high school. 

Beez's parents were much more understanding, though they were quite absent in most of Beez's life. Unlike his parents though, who didn't much care that they had hadn't really raised their children and had used nannies and butlers instead, Beez's parents took time to reconnect with their child whenever they weren't away on business trips. He longed for that kind of closeness with his own parents. He wouldn't even mind the over-doting Devices - Anathema's mums - or even Newt's mother who at least looked out for her son and only had his best interests at heart.

Crowley made eye contact with one of the mothers in the park and became aware of how creepy he must look, so he drove off, heading back to the flat.

Beez's parties were usually pretty casual so he just threw on a worn pair of skinny jeans and a baggy cardigan that wasn't too heavy. The weather was getting much cooler, but Beez's dorm room had a heating problem so he knew that within seconds of being in there the guests would be boiling alive. With that thought, he texted Aziraphale a warning.

Anathema had come straight home from the hospital so she was already in her party wear and had her hair in a bun. She looked over the top of her glasses and gave a mock wolf whistle. 

"Beez texted asking if we could pick up more drinks on our way over. They underestimated how many people were coming."

"They haven't learned that they should be keeping their parties small?" Crowley sat across from Anathema at their kitchen table. "I know their RA has reprimanded them two times already."

"It's Beez, they do what they want." Anathema said with annoyed fondness.

"So have you been keeping up with Newt?"

"His mother is of course not allowing him to come to party, says he's been put on house arrest. Also he's been fired."

Crowley's eyebrows furrowed. "Fired? What for, it's not like he-", he cut himself off at the look Anathema gave him. "Oh he did." He finished weakly. Newt loved everything technological, Crowley wasn't sure Newt would have survived in the earlier centuries, that the boy would always be aching for something that hadn't been created yet. Logically, that meant Newt went towards jobs that could fulfill his desires. The only problem was technology had no such love for him. Crowley swore that Newt could give a computer a virus just by blinking at it.

"This is his fourth job then?"

Anathema nodded. "I support him of course, but this is getting ridiculous."

Crowley couldn't help but agree.

"So are we sneaking him out?"

Anathema shook her head no. "He's had quite a shock this round so it's just us two.. three." She looked at him coyly. "I'll excuse you ditching me just this once because I know you and Aziraphale are going to sneak off as soon as you can."

Crowley made a noise to protest but they both knew that it was just out of habit. Crowley loved parties, but the thought of spending alone time with Aziraphale was much more enjoyable.

They hopped into Anathema's yellow Beetle - she had a strict rule about not getting into the car with Crowley behind the wheel unless strictly necessary - and they swung by a liquor store to buy some pop, and finally parked in one of the campus lots.

The party was already in full swing, and they managed a quick greeting to the host before Beez disappeared with the drinks in tow. 

Crowley sent another text to Aziraphale telling him that he was there, and slinked off behind Anathema to their usual spot by the drinks and food. Beez was in a suite so it was a rather large area with its own bathroom, but it always became immensely small during these sorts of parties.

Anathema grabbed them both some cheap alcohol and a plate of snacks which they polished off by the time Crowley spotted Aziraphale standing in the doorway to the dorm.

He was a short, plump, and brightly colored figure in a see of angsty looking college students in dull colors.

Crowley gestured towards Aziraphale so Anathema would know where he was heading to, and briskly made his way past the other party-goers, not caring how harshly he was shoving people with his shoulders. His goal was to get too Aziraphale. Like a moth drawn to a flame.

Aziraphale was looking around looking unsure of himself until he spotted Crowley. 

"Hello dear." He said, looking up at Crowley. Crowley found himself pulling Aziraphale into a hug, and he murmured his greeting into Aziraphale's hair.

"Anathema's over by the food, and Newt couldn't make it." Crowley told the hair.

"Food?" Aziraphale asked, his voice perking up. Crowley made a disappointed noise as Aziraphale pulled away, and then was surprised as he found himself being led by Aziraphale over to the food table where the boy piled his plate with small biscuits and brownies.

"So, is this your first party?" Anathema asked when they reached her. She had another drink in her hand which she offered to Aziraphale but the boy shook his head no. 

"It is actually. Does it show?" Aziraphale asked worriedly, suddenly seeming to notice that his jade green chino's, pastel yellow button up, and white vest were making him stand out.

"Who cares," Crowley practically purred into Aziraphale's ear making the blond shudder, "and can I just say you look as _delicious _as those biscuits. I wanna _eat_ you right up." Crowley's hand wandered down Aziraphale's back to the curve of his ass and gave a hard squeeze.

Aziraphale jolted forward and became a flustered and blushing mess as he just managed to not spill all his desserts on to the floor.

Anathema rolled her eyes and threw a grape at Crowley's head over Aziraphale's shoulder. "As cute as you two are, I don't need to be reminded that Newt isn't here to squeeze my ass." She mock pouted.

Aziraphale made a spluttering noise and Crowley took the advantage to pull him into a sweet and wet kiss. He planted his front to Aziraphale's backside as they kissed, and he used one hand to tilt Aziraphale's chin to the right angle, while the other splayed itself against Aziraphale's soft belly.

"Please get a room." Anathema gagged.

"Do you want to?" Crowley teased, licking Aziraphale's lips and savoring the taste of biscuits.

"C-Crowley." Aziraphale tried to scold, but his eyes were blazing, and his hand was unconsciously reaching for Crowley's sunglasses. Crowley pulled away, since the lights in the dorm were surprisingly too bright still, and Aziraphale looked hurt. Crowley then realized that he had never explained to Aziraphale why he wore sunglasses, but here wasn't the place to start going into it. He didn't feel like shouting over the music about his sensitive eyes.

"We're going to leave this place, sorry Anathema but the ditching is starting right now." 

Aziraphale looked very apologetic but also confused as to why they were leaving so soon, but a girl tripped into Anathema almost sending them both to the floor and making her beer slosh all over Anathema's top, and suddenly he was looking relieved to be leaving.

Anathema told the girl off and then wished Crowley and Aziraphale luck as she went off to ask Beez if she could borrow one of their shirts.

Crowley snaked another plate of sweets on the way out, a plan forming in his head. He made them stop at Anathema's car, and he showed Aziraphale that if you banged on the trunk of the car in just the right spot, the trunk would pop open. It was a weird trick that worked even when the car was locked and it had been discovered when Beez had been high and slammed the trunk of the car the trying to reenact the meme of the guy slapping the car and talking about how many whatever's could fit inside it.

He handed the plate over to Aziraphale to hold as he pulled out a dark blue blanket from the car, he shut the trunk - making sure it was locked - and then led Aziraphale over to a grassy area that was in between Beez's dorm and another, that was secluded but well lit. He spread out the blanket, took the plate from Aziraphale so he could set it atop the blue fabric, and then sat down. He had put the blanket close to the wall of the dorm so he could rest his back against the brick wall, and he spread his legs wide, motioning for Aziraphale to sit down between them.

Aziraphale unbuttoned his vest, and then sat down and wriggled into place, leaning his head back so it was under Crowley's chin. Crowley picked up a biscuit and offered it to Aziraphale, who opened his lips hesitantly and took it into his mouth.

"It's really beautiful out here." Aziraphale whispered, and Crowley followed his line of sight up into the sky. The sun was just starting to set so the entire sky was a soft blue with sherbert colored orange, candy pink and soft purple blending in with it.

"I think this is counts as a first date right?" Crowley asked, offering another biscuit which Aziraphale eagerly ate.

"It's more than adequate." Aziraphale said softly.

They sat in silence, Crowley occasionally feeding Aziraphale til all the food was gone.

"By the way, I should explain why I pulled away from you when you reached for my sunglasses."

That got Aziraphale's attention, and the blond twisted around so he was kneeling and fully facing Crowley. Crowley slipped his sunglasses off and set them down beside him, blinking harsh two times so he could get adjusted.

"When I was very little, doctors found that I had a pituitary tumor. They took it out in time, but a side effect can be photophobia, which means my eyes become light sensitive during the duration of the time that I'm affected by whatever's causing it, aka the tumor. But for some reason, after the tumor was removed, the photophobia stayed. It's why I'm always wearing sunglasses, and why I pulled away from you earlier, the lights are too bright for my eyes."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Aziraphale said, cupping Crowley's cheeks.

Crowley smiled. "You had nothing to do with it angel, they're just a crappy part of me."

Aziraphale shook his head. "They're _beautiful _Crowley," and Aziraphale leaned down to kiss him.


	8. Back In Town

Crowley was unable to see Aziraphale for the next few days. 

Aziraphale, unlike Crowley, always wanted to be on top of his work. The blond was therefore studying constantly for the last few days so he could have enough free time for Crowley not spent worrying about a homework assignment. Crowley was slightly in awe of Aziraphale's determination, and tried to match it.

He and Anathema even managed to finish up their Oscar Wilde essays.

The entire time though Crowley was wishing to see Aziraphale. Sure they texted or skyped - whenever Aziraphale remembered how to use the app - but it wasn't the same.

With the weekend finally starting tomorrow, Crowley had received a text from Aziraphale saying that he had finished all he needed too, and the two of them could spend the entire weekend doing whatever they wanted together.

Crowley was beyond ecstatic - and tried very hard not to let Anathema see that. She was too busy as it was fussing over Newt to be up to her usual teasing standards when it came to how smitten Crowley was with Aziraphale. 

He, Anathema, Beez, and Newt were all at Carla's Coffeehouse that Friday night, just enjoying each other's company. Beez was just telling them a story about their new annoying coworker - who happened to be named Gabriel and was making Crowley feel suspicious - when he caught sight of a familiar red head.

"Oh blasted." He said as his hand knocked into his cup of coffee, causing its contents to slosh on to his pants.

The group turned to look at him in confusion as he furiously wiped at his crotch with a napkin.

"What's got you all jittery?" Beez asked, scrunching up their nose.

"Scarlet's here." He hissed out, ducking his head behind Newt when he saw the red head swivel in their direction, as if she was able to hear her name from across the room.

"You can't be serious." Anathema frowned, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear nervously.

"It's just my luck. Everything's going all grand and then _she _just has to show up."

"Are the rest with her?" Newt asked nervously. Unlike the rest of the group, Newt had only heard stories about Scarlet and her friends. Scarlet was the main reason Crowley had taken a turn for the worse during high school. She had come swooping in like a guardian angel, and then had shown her colors when it was too late for him to escape her web. 

"Not that I can tell." Crowley whispers.

A few moments later, Anathema is tugging on the sleeve of his shirt and she's telling him that Scarlet's gone. He repositions himself into his casual slouch and tries to breathe normally as Beez starts cursing.

"Why the fuck is she here. Didn't her and her cronies move to Glasgow?" Beez practically snarled.

Anathema pinched her lips together. "My mum said they'd made it as far as Colorado in the United States."

Crowley was tuning them out, unaware that Anathema was keeping a watchful eye on him as he stared out the window of the coffeeshop. He could just make out the tail lights of Scarlet's motorcycle fleeing out of the parking lot.

"I think I better start heading back to the flat." Crowley announced to the group, interrupting their conversation.

"Crowley maybe you should-"

"I'm fine." He snapped at Anathema. He instantly regretted using that tone with Anathema and hurriedly left his seat and exited the coffeeshop. He hated how uneasy he was feeling now that Scarlet had shown up.

Scarlet had been the one who had almost gotten him arrested his senior year of high school. They had been on and off together - most of the off times spent as friends with benefits - and now that Crowley looked back upon it, had a very toxic relationship.

He didn't like to admit it, but she was the one of held the cards. She was the one who was able to manipulate him with carefully said words and gentle pushed in the right direction. He was always one step behind her on his best nights, and that was ultimately the cause of the whole fiasco.

Anathema had never liked Scarlet. They had gotten along like water and oil from the first moment they'd laid eyes on each other. Anathema had been the one who had been concerned for him that night, her grip was tight as he left her house that day to go pick up Scarlet and one of her friends - a Raven something - so they could go to a party. Scarlet had been very secretive about what sort of party it was, so Crowley was of course excited and intrigued, while Anathema was ten seconds from knocking him unconscious so he wouldn't go.

In the end, Crowley had gotten into a row with Anathema and he had stormed away from the house, driving even wilder than usual as he made his way to Scarlet's house.

Crowley didn't like to think about what happened next. It reminded him of how stupid he had been to miss the signs. How erratic Scarlet was, the people she hung out with. 

He found found himself on auto pilot, texting Aziraphale that he needed to see him now. 

He hopped into his car and sped off towards the bookshop. 

Crowley didn't even have a chance to knock on the door, as Aziraphale was already standing in the doorway, the yellow lighting from within the shop illuminating him in a soft and almost heavenly glow. 

"Crowley dear, whatever is the matter?" Aziraphale asked as Crowley practically stalked towards him.

"I- ngk - I just need." Crowley couldn't form any words. On the one hand, he wanted to tell Aziraphale everything, but on the other hand he didn't want to scare away the one person in his life that he cared for more than the world. This was a secret that only his closest friends knew. No one understood how emotionally torn up and abused he was with his time with Scarlet besides Beez and Anathema. Maybe Newt had some idea from little snippets of the story he was allowed to know, but right now Crowley felt as if he'd never told anyone and all those feeling were rushing up and choking him.

He stared down at Aziraphale's worried blue eyes and imagined just telling him. He'd understand right? He had too? it wasn't Crowley's fault, it wasn't. 

He threw his arms around Aziraphale's shoulders, and let himself go for once, soaking the fabric of Aziraphale's pajama top with his tears.


	9. Let It Go

Crowley couldn't bring himself to straight away tell Aziraphale about seeing Scarlet at the coffee shop. He needed to put some time between the incident and exposing everything about him to Aziraphale, so after they had sat down on the couch together and Crowley had finished crying, he moved the subject into an easier topic.

"So how's Agatha doing?"

Aziraphale went into a long rant about how much better she was doing and how he was extremely disappointed in Gabriel for mistreating such a lovely creature, but soon his tangent dwindled down and he was focused once again on Crowley. 

"Please tell me what's the matter dear." He took Crowley's hands and held them in his lap, his thumb caressing the sharp edges of Crowley's wrist.

Crowley hesitated, and that was all Aziraphale needed to set a new plan in action.

"I'm sure it will be easier to talk if we were in a more comfortable situation." Aziraphale practically leaped up from the couch and dragged Crowley upstairs into his room. He shut the door with his hip so he wouldn't have to remove his hands from Crowley, and then slowly settled them a top his bed so they were snuggled tightly together with Crowley's head nestled against Aziraphale's chest, and the blond's nose was buried in Crowley's head.

The room was dark because the shades had been put down, but there was still a soft warm glow coming from the heat lamp by Agatha's cage. 

Crowley felt comfortable enough so he maneuvered just enough to take off his glasses and put them on the nightstand before settling back into his earlier position.

"Just talk, take as long as you need." Aziraphale whispered, bringing a hand up to caress his fingers through the red spikes his face was buried in.

Crowley took a deep breath and let it out slowly, enjoying the simple touch for a few moments.

"I didn't exactly have a good home life when I was growing up. I adore my parents but...I was never enough for them. They expected me to act and be a certain way, and when I didn't, they just turned all their affections to my siblings who were basically the mini versions of my parents."

"I didn't know you had siblings." 

Crowley slightly nodded.

"Two older sisters and a younger brother. Only one of my sisters still talks to me outside of family gatherings."

He could practically feel the blond restraining himself from questioning that so he delved more into his family background. It felt good to get everything off his chest.

"Around junior year of high school I became basically estranged from my family. I lived with Beez and their parents - they were the one who hosted the party a couple days ago - throughout the reminder of my high school year. I was still invited to formal events my parents hosted or birthday parties but because I wasn't changing they felt no need to contact me otherwise. Michael, my eldest sister was in my position before she decided to just go along with how my family wanted her to be, so we still text and write letters to each others. She's been the most supportive."

Crowley nestled further into Aziraphale's arms.

"That's an odd name for a girl."

Crowley let out a little laugh. "Yeah, my parents wanted all their children to be named after the archangels, so my sisters were named Michael and Uriel, and my younger brother is Joel."

"But your name is..Crowley. I don't know of any archangel named Crowley."

The light mood from before died away as quickly as it had surfaced. Crowley cleared his throat and tightened his hold on Aziraphale. 

"When I was in high school, I fell into the wrong crowd. I sort of took on a new name, Crowley, because I felt it would fit in more and make me sound badass. I just stuck with it in the end. My legal name is Raphael though. Anyways their leader at the time really liked me, and I wanted him to be..proud of me I guess? I always wanted people to be happy with me so I'd do whatever he said, or any of the other people in that group. I ended up in an on and off relationship with this one girl and it became abusive after a while. A lot of people didn't believe me or try to help me because their mentality was how can a guy be beat around by a girl."

He choked out the last part as his throat closed up from the on coming wave of fresh tears.

"They were wrong to not help you." Aziraphale said sternly. "Abuse can happen with anyone and I hope you know that it wasn't your fault at any point."

Crowley smiled briefly. "Anathema helped pull me out of the group actually. We had a few classes together and despite everything we managed to really click. She also had Beez's support because while Beez did hang around with that crowd sometimes, they weren't as deeply in it as I was."

"Oh Crowley." Aziraphale said and kissed Crowley's forehead.

Tears were fully streaming down his face now and his vision was bleary.

"The girl I was in a relationship with," _hic_, "was in the coffee shop just now, and I don't know why she's here because her and that crowd left this area after graduation," _hic_, "and I-"

Crowley's words were rushed and desperate, and he was embaressed that he was crying so hard that he was hiccuping. 

"I _won't _let her near you." Aziraphale said.

Crowley was a little shaken by the sudden change in Aziraphale's tone. He'd never heard the blond sound like that before.

He still had to tell Aziraphale about how his parents wouldn't be accepting of their relationship, but his phone started vibrating at that precise moment, and as he pulled away from Aziraphale's soothing embrace so he could read the text message....his heart stopped dead as his eyes registered what was on the phone.


	10. They're Here

Crowley's heart sank down into his stomach as he read the text message from his sister.

"I need to go." He managed to say as he tried to disentangle himself from Aziraphale, nearly sending them both tumbling off of the bed.

"What?" Aziraphale asked, startled by Crowley's sudden change in demeanor.

"I'm sorry, my sister." Crowley didn't even know what words were at this point. Uriel had just texted him that Michael was in the hospital. The words reverberated around his brain as he slapped on his sunglasses and rushed out of the room, taking the stairs two at a time.

"Crowley! Slow down!" Aziraphale called out as he tried to follow, but Crowley was on another planet at this point.

"Where the bloody fuck are my car keys." He snarled, his hands searching furiously through all his blankets.

"Crowley stop!" Aziraphale's commanding tone, and his vice like grip on Crowley's bicep made him calm down. He shifted uneasily as Aziraphale stared him down.

"Now tell me what is going on dear," Aziraphale pleaded in a soft voice.

"I just got a text from my sister Uriel, Michael's in the hospital."

Aziraphale winced at the news and pulled Crowley down into a hug.

"You are in no state to drive there, I'll take you."

Crowley squeezed him back and thanked him with a small kiss.

"You really don't have to do this." He said as they made their way to his car. Aziraphale calmly took the car keys from Crowley and got behind the wheel, patting his shoulder for Crowley to rest his head on it.

"Nonsense dear, you've done so much for me. We do what we can for those we love."

Crowley smiled, and it only hit him about halfway to the hospital that Aziraphale had said _love._ His hand clenched painfully and he stared out unseeing through the windshield. Aziraphale was a good and kind man, he wouldn't hurt him like Scarlet. And if he was allowing himself to be truly honest, he had loved Aziraphale since the moment he had laid his eyes on the plump blond. He sneaked a quick kiss to the blond's shoulder at that thought and settled further against Aziraphale.

It wasn't until they reached the floor that his sister was on that he realized the implications of bringing Aziraphale there, and how his family would react.

His hands were sweating all of a sudden, and he wanted to shake loose from Aziraphale's hand but he knew that it would hurt Aziraphale if he did so.

Aziraphale squeezed his hand as they walked down the hall and Crowley smiled at him with thanks, before he turned his attention to his older sister Uriel, who was pacing back and forth in front of what he assumed was Michael's room.

"There you are!" She snapped, speed walking towards them so fast she almost ran into them. 

Her willowy and strong arms pulled him into a large hug.

She was an elegantly dressed woman in her 30's, with short black hair and squinted brown eyes, and a tall athlete's body. His parents had been in Zimbabwe for a medical retreat when they had adopted her and brought her back to the United Kingdom. She was short tempered and quick witted when she wanted to be, and her and Crowley never fully saw eye to eye but she was certainly his favorite sibling after Michael.

"I'm sorry the message was so short but they just transferred her from ICU and maybe ten minutes later she had to go back."

"What on Earth happened?" Crowley asked, returning by Aziraphale's side.

"What do you mean what happened?" She asked raising a defined eyebrow. 

Crowley raised an eyebrow right back. "How did she get where she is? Did she get in a car accident? Attacked by ducks?"

Uriel snorted but regained her composure. "She's been in the hospital for two days already Raph."

Crowley winced at the nickname she refused to let go of and then realized what she had said.

"She's been in the hospital for _two _days?! And you only think to mention that to me now?" 

Aziraphale was squeezing his hand again but he couldn't care less. He was seeing red.

"Mom and dad told me they were going to tell you." Uriel was looking at him with something akin to pity and he snapped at her.

"Oh of course they were, that makes sense. Because in mom and dad time, that means they'll tell me a whole bloody month after the incident has happened!"

He was breathing heavily, all the adrenaline and anger rising up in him and he wanted to yell and curse out his family.

Aziraphale grabbed him by the face and pulled him down so their foreheads were pressed against each other.

"Breathe, I need you to breathe." Aziraphale said in a calm and authoritative voice.

Crowley struggled to follow his directions, making himself mimic Aziraphale's breaths.

When he finally regained control of himself, he looked over to find Uriel watching them with pinched lips.

"You're being a hypocrite." Uriel said.

"Ok this? This is different than not telling my sister was in the hospital in such bad condition that she keeps going into the ICU!" Crowley snapped again.

Uriel looked Aziraphale over, once quickly, and then again with a longer interest.

"Is this like that time in 7th grade-"

"No." Crowley snapped, shaking his head vehemently. "I love him." He said standing straight and daring Uriel to say anything. 

Aziraphale made a sputtering noise as Uriel looked at him again.

"I couldn't care less, but I'm sure you're already aware of how our parents will react to this news?" She directed the question to Aziraphale who shook his head no.

Crowley really wanted the ground to swallow him up.

"Speak of the devil." Uriel said and pointedly looked behind Aziraphale and Crowley.

Crowley whirled around and saw his parent briskly walking towards them.

He simply didn't care anymore, he grabbed Aziraphale's hand and tugged him behind him, trying to block the boy from his parents view but not let go of Azirphale's soft hand.

He feared that if he let go of the boys hand, he'd lose all his courage.

As they came closer, he noticed something, his eyes widened and his heart dropped when he saw who was behind them. 

Familiar long red hair and a smug expression; Scarlet.


	11. It's All Out Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: There is some mentioning of suicide attempts in this chapter and later ones.

It was like all his walls were crumbling.

"What the _fuck _is she doing here?" He snarled.

His parents were vaguely aware of Scarlet, not really investing themselves in their sons abusive relationship or the trauma he went through afterwards. Still, Scarlet was not the type of girl his parents would have liked even if they had shown interest in their child's love life.

She was overly tall for a female, and had tattoos on her legs and arms, and kool-aid dyed red hair even though she was a natural red head.

Her smile seemed to grow wider as his parents looked at him with shame.

"Now Raphael, is that any way to speak." His mother scoffed. 

The fact that his mother had never even tried to use his other name spared him from the full body flinch he normally would have had if anyone else used his real name.

"It is when it's with people like her." He said as politely and calmly as he could.

Going off on his parents would do no good.

"I heard about Michael and I wanted to see how she was doing." Scarlet put on a sympathetic face and tried to pull Crowley in for a hug, but he side stepped her, still making sure to block Aziraphale from his family.

He felt Aziraphale tapping on his lower back with one finger, probably trying to communicate to Crowley that he wasn't taking a liking to being shoved behind the taller boys back, but Crowley didn't need Aziraphale to be tainted by his family or his ex.

"Well, we have that in common at least," he said bitterly. "So mom, dad, can you enlighten us as to what happened to Michael in the last two days."

His dad looked away from him, suddenly much more interested in the floor, so his mother took charge, her face breaking out in red splotches from embarrassment.

"We were going to tell you darling, things were just so out of hand..." She trailed off from her excuses and motioned towards Uriel.

"I figured your sister would have updated you on everything since you've been here."

Uriel raised a perfectly waxed eyebrow and said nothing, clearly conveying she wasn't going to let her mother wiggle out of this one.

"Michael...She's always been a good girl as you know...You shouldn't look at her in any other sort of light once I tell you." His mother was struggling with her words and Crowley suppressed an eye roll.

"Nothing you say will make me think poorly of her, I'm not like you."

His mother opened her mouth to rebuttal but clamped it shut when Uriel stood shoulder to shoulder with Crowley.

He caught Scarlet trying to slink closer, her eyes set on whatever parts of Aziraphale's larger form was showing from behind Crowley, so he adjusted his stance again, giving her a warning look. 

"Your sister was found in her hotel room surrounded by drugs and alcohol. She overdosed and they're saying it was an attempted suicide." His mothers lips curled with disgust at the word suicide and Crowley felt his world crashing down.

"Are you sure?" He croaked out.

His mother nodded and he clutched down hard on Aziraphale's hand, making the blonde make a startled noise, which drew attention towards him.

"And who's this, really we shouldn't be talking about this sort of stuff in front of unknown's." His mother peered around his shoulders as Aziraphale stepped out from behind Crowley.

"I'm Aziraphale." Aziraphale said, sticking his hand out proudly. His mother took it with her default expression and his father did too.

"Quiet an unusual name, though I appreciate the biblical connotation to it." His father nodded to himself. "Well young man, it really is none of your business since you're not family so I do apologize for whatever you have hear-"

"He is family." Crowley said bluntly, surprising everyone.

"Pardon? I'm sure no one in our family is named Aziraphale." His mother scoffed.

This time he did roll his eyes and in a moment of courage he shoved their intertwined hands basically in his parents faces.

They looked at it as if they'd never seen two people holding hands before.

"I don't think they get it." Scarlet said dryly, though she went back to smirking at the mere thought of what was going to transpire next.

Crowley looked at Aziraphale quickly, weighing his options, and then over at Uriel, who was shockingly giving him a look of support.

"He's my boyfriend."


	12. Just A Little Talk

A nurse came by at that precise moment, her perky disposition and the meaning behind her visit taking all the attention away.

Crowley could have kneeled down on to the ground and started thanking the lord right then and there.

"Hi, my name is Tricia, are you Michael Anthony's family?"

Crowley's father answered for all of them and gladly followed the nurse off to the side along with his mother, leaving Scarlet, Aziraphale, Uriel, and Crowley alone together.

"So, this is your new squeeze is it?" Scarlet looked Aziraphale over with obvious distaste.

Crowley gritted his teeth. 

"He is not my new _squeeze _Scarlet. What even brings you back in town?"

Scarlet shrugged. "What? is it a crime to come back home now?"

"It is when you're involved."

Scarlet started to say something else but Uriel interjected, "I think that's quite enough, our sisters rather sick and she doesn't need the likes of you about here so just run along."

Scarlet stared down Uriel for a bit, but she thankfully backed off, not before grabbing Crowley into a rough hug and promising that she would "see him soon."

He felt icky from her touch, the smell of flowers and sweat invading his nostrils as she left, wishing his parents a solemn goodbye.

"I never liked her you know." Uriel said, sticking her nose in the air. "I dated that one bloke in her group, Raven, utter douche."

Crowley nodded, unsure again as to why his sister was acting so close and chummy with him. 

"Crowley, not to intrude but I think there might be some explaining you need to do." Aziraphale whispered.

Crowley winced, knowing that hiding his sexuality from his family was also now hurting his boyfriend, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

He motioned for Uriel to give them a minute and he pulled Aziraphale aside.

"Ok, so I probably should have been more forward about this but..er..well I never told my parents that I liked guys. I come from a rather old-fashioned homophobic and closeted racist sorta family." 

Aziraphale's eyebrows scrunched together with concern.

"Things have always been rocky, now me dropping the bomb on them is going to make things ten time worse but, it's worth it..ngk..worth it for you." He whispered the last part his cheeks flushing. 

Aziraphale flushed too.

"I wish you had said something earlier, but..thank you dear." He cupped Crowley's chin and leaned up on his tip-toes and kissed Crowley's cheek.

There was a clearing of the throat right by Crowley's ear and he startled and whipped around to find Uriel staring at him grimly.

"The nurse just finished speaking to mom and dad, Michael is stable again and she's requesting to speak to you, and only you."

Crowley felt his insides drop.

"Why would she want to talk to me?"

"I have no idea, but mom and dad are extremely pissed about it. All she's been saying is that you're the only one who would understand." Uriel looked hurt for a moment before her usual stony appearance fell into place. 

Crowley swallowed and anxiously looked at Aziraphale.

"Can you make sure that-"

"Yeah yeah, just get in there." Uriel shoved him away from Aziraphale and towards the door.

He couldn't help but glance at his parents, who were watching him with a mixture of anger and resentment. He squared his shoulders back and followed Tricia into the room.

* * *

Michael was propped up with multiple pillows, her usually neatly styled blonde hair a wild and spread out mess.

Nurse Tricia made a few adjustments to a machine Michael was hooked up to before bidding them a hasty good-bye.

"You're looking well." Crowley tried to joke, but Michael's blank stare brought him back to the reality of the situation they were in.

"Yeah..er..right." He moved one of the hospital chairs with his foot so it was closer to the bed before dropping into it.

"Good to see you I suppose, I mean the circumstances are...well you know what I mean." Crowley had always been a nervous talker, and sitting in front of the one family member he could spill his guts out too wasn't helping.

"It's good to see you too." She whispered out. Her lips were cracked and she looked suddenly so frail and fragile, nothing like her usual self. Crowley pushed up his sunglasses, daring the brightness of the room, so he could look at her better.

"You look like shit." He smiled, climbing out of the chair and into the bed, curling up beside her.

She gave a startled laugh and gave him a quick and weak hug. "Fuck you too little brother."

He smiled against her neck.

They had always been that way when alone together. A sarcastic match made in heaven. 

"What happened?" He asked, suddenly feeling very young and unsure of the world.

She heaved a sigh and started playing his fingers, moving them up and down like puppets.

"It's hard to talk about it, especially since I need to come up with a story for mom and dad."

"Fuck them." Crowley snarled, thinking about how they had been more worried about their image being damaged, rather than for the safety of their daughter.

"You know Markus, my fiance?" 

Crowley nodded, a faint memory of a cookie cutter, average looking man in a suit popped into his head.

"Well, he saw me in bed with the district attorney."

Crowley pulled away enough so his sister saw his startled expression.

"No offense, but I think an affair is one of the least likely reasons for..this. Heck, the amount of affairs our parents have had and every other wealthy friend of theirs can't be counted on my fingers and toes."

"It's because of who the district attorney is."

Crowley jokingly said, "it's not that short ginger headed fellow is it? your afraid mom and dad wouldn't be accepting of a leprechaun?"

Michael didn't smile back at the joke so Crowley sobbered up and let his sunglasses go back over his eyes, as the weight of his sisters gaze and the brightness of the room was starting to get to him.

"Well just tell me Micha, there's nothing you can say that will turn me away."

Michael's eyes welled up with tears and Crowley reached down to squeeze her hand.

"It's because it was a she. The district attorney was a she."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I just make Crowley's last name Anthony? YUP, this is what happens when you're running on 0 energy folks.


	13. We Need To Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank everyone who left comments about my midterms :) I'm very thankful that everyone is so understanding and patient with me. I feel bad when I have a plan to upload at certain times and then something comes up and I can't, or I misjudge how much time I have to work on here vs school. 
> 
> I have 3 more midterms this week and then I'm officially done, though I think I have a cold coming on because life hates me right now lol. I did finish a five page essay in 4 hours so maybe my cold is being contributed to the stress from that because I'm a horrible procrastinator.

"Ok." Crowley said.

"Ok." Michael parroted back. 

"Sorry it's just- I mean you never-" Crowley paused, never being at such a loss before.

HIs sister had only ever breathed, talked, and slept with men. For god's sake they spent most of their letters and texts between each other talking about men that they saw as perceivable partners. And then Michael had met _Markus _and between him and work that was all they ever talked about, besides one or two guys, and multiple girls that Crowley found interesting.

"For christ's sake Michael, what made you think that your only option was suicide?!" 

Michael flinched back into the pillows and uncharacteristically twiddled with the edge of her sheets.

"I have had the most pressure in this family, I'm the one who was meant to be a guy and continue the great Anthony family. Then the rest of our siblings came along and I was supposed to help them and keep them in check, and then I was supposed to marry someone wealthy with connections to the family. There was never any time for just me to be, there was no time where I could pull someone aside and say "hey, I need a break," or "this isn't me!"

Her words spilled out in a rush and Crowley longed to just grab her hand and tell her to stop because he didn't want to hear this. He didn't want to hear about how his put together sister was spiraling just like him - even worse actually. But looking at her drawn in pale face, and the cold sterile walls of the hospital he realized that he was part of the problem. Him not wanting to hear her problems be put against his was partially the reason she was in here and he could never forgive himself for that.

"Do you want me to be there when mom and dad come in?" 

Michael bit her lip.

"I honestly don't know if it'll be worse having you there."

"But you will tell them the truth right? you can't keep this bottled inside, I'm not going to lose you."

"We'll worry about that tomorrow, I'm going to have the nurse tell mom and dad that I can't see anymore visitors for tonight."

Crowley nodded and kissed her forehead.

"I won't tell them anything, promise."

Michael smiled.

"Did anyone else come?"

Crowley nodded, saw the light in her eyes, told her it was only Uriel, and watched the lights disappear. He knew exactly to who she was referring to, but neither of them would say it.

He wished her a goodnight and slipped out of the room and back into the hallway where Uriel and Aziraphale were waiting.

"Where did mom and dad go?" Crowley asked, looking down the long white halls for any sign of them.

Uriel stared at him impassively.

"You just missed them, dad remembered he has a golf tournament later today and mom didn't want to stay here alone.

Crowley's hand bunched into a fist and he would have started yelling but Aziraphale rested a heavy hand on his shoulder and he stayed silent, giving Aziraphale a small smile in thanks.

"They weren't too hard on you, were they?" He asked Aziraphale.

Aziraphale shook his head. "They were too busy fighting with that poor nurse."

Uriel made a snorting sound which was as close to laughter as Crowley had ever heard her come to and he rolled his eyes.

"That's my parents for you, wish you could have met them under better circumstances." He smiled weakley. _Or maybe not even meet them at all _he thought to himself.

Aziraphale squeezed his shoulder and pressed a comforting kiss to his cheek.

They waited as the nurse returned. Once Uriel saw the nurse, she booked it out of there, wishing Crowley and Aziraphale well before practically sprinting to the elevators.

As soon as the nurse had gone into Michael's room and Uriel had disappeared, Aziraphale looked up at Crowley and said the four words Crowley dreaded the most.

"We need to talk."


End file.
